Michael Schumacher will not get to sample a 2009-spec Ferrari F60 after three teams blocked the move.

The opposition came from Williams and Red Bull/Toro Rosso. The latter objected because they claim to have made a similar request for Jaime Alguersuari which had been turned down. Williams, meanwhile, said Ferrari should have used one of their nominated reserve drivers.

Should Schumacher be allowed to test a 2009-spec F1 car?

Yes (34%)

No (66%)

Total Voters: 2,481

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Mercedes’ Norbert Haug, who was in favour of granting Schumacher a test, seemed to think Red Bull had not made such a request for Alguersuari:

Giving Jaime a test would have been justifiable, but having said that I don’t think there was an official request.

He added:

You will find some guys that will try to block it. But what goes around comes around. They will need some help at another stage. It’s not giving people presents, it’s being fair when it’s justifiable.

You don’t need me to rattle off Schumacher’s daunting career stats to prove how gigantically experienced he is. If the F60 is as competitive at Valencia as it was at the Hungaroring then even if he hasn’t tested it yet he’s a candidate for the win.

And you have to wonder if that’s part of the reason why some of the other teams don’t want him testing.

116 comments on Schumacher won’t get F60 test (Poll)

If Schumy had decided to come back in a Renault after replacing Piquet, would Ferrari have agreed to the waiver??? Hehehe, we all know the answer to that one, don’t we?

When five time Wimbledon winner Bjorn Borg retired and decided to play only Wimbledon, he was told he would have to play in the qualifier, which he immediately declined. He too expected waivers to the rules because of his status not unlike Schumy’s situation.

Can’t wait to see him race, it is a great mid season twist along with McLaren’s resurgence.

I think this was a fair development. Some kind of practice of allowing rookies entering the sport during the season some more preparation than simulator and straight line tests should be discussed, but right now, the situation is as it was defined, and under those circumstances, no driver, no matter how successful or promising, warrants any exceptions from that rule.